Following a visit to the south of the country, still struggling to overcome the consequences of civil war, the cardinal is in the conflict-torn Darfur region this week visiting aid projects.
According to The Scotsman, O’Brien said that the plight of Sudan had fallen from the headlines and that aid had begun to dry up.
"Income to both charities and from government seems to be falling largely because of the outstanding demands for other things. Things like the tsunami have quite understandably turned people's attention elsewhere,” said Cardinal O’Brien.
"I have been in Rwanda, Congo, Ethiopia, but I have never seen anything like this. This is the poorest country I have ever seen."I have been in Rwanda, Congo, Ethiopia, but I have never seen anything like this. This is the poorest country I have ever seen.
Cardinal Keith O'Brien, head of Catholic Church in Scotland
He added: "It is quite unbelievable how they survive at all. They are just waiting for the rest of the human race to wake up and see that something drastic must be done to help."
The cardinal has been visiting refugee camps each housing as many as 10,000 refugees in conditions of abject poverty.
Cardinal O’Brien called on African politicians to take action against the situation as they gather this week in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum for the African Union congress.
